So In Summation

Here is what a week in my shoes looks like - starting with today and going back to last weekend...

Shoe Shy

Getting photos of 'my week in my shoes' is proving to be more difficult than you might think. Since most of my day is done at work it only seems natural that I get a photo there. But who is dying to be "the girl that keeps taking pictures of her shoes?" Not I. So my original intention was to get a photo getting out of my car or something, simple, hidden - nevertheless having to do with my going to work. I tried to take the photo but I was just totally uninspired to tell you the truth.

So I tried a few times in the elevator. But 9 floors just is not enough, and a few people got on and I had to pretend like I was just scrolling through my photos, casually.

It would have to be my cubicle. So the first time I took a photo, I coughed a little bit to muffle the sound of the shutter. But that image came out blurry. So I tried again - no good. Is there anywhere else in this building I can get a fucking photo? I finally admitted to myself that like it or not I would have to use the flash. I went for it.

And was inevitably called out on it.

I went with an elevator photo in the end.

Zeus

Another day in my shoes. This time in the confines of my very own cubicle. This photo really makes me question that tone of gold...Regardless of what you might think, pavement does not melt as I walk over it.

Blogosphere Expolosion

There are three blogs that I routinely check in with. Three blogs that currently peak my interest for one reason or another. And they each happen to be going through something significant in their lives and so I thought I would link to each of them and give you a little blurb.

1. Dooce is pregnant. One of my staple, go-to bloggers, just announced that she is with child. Her blog is already funny and easy to relate to, and its hard not to love the simple layout.

2. This craft website is the source of a lot of inspiration. Turkey Feathers just published her first book. She bought one large wool blanket from an antique store and made over 40 different crafty items from it.

3. C jane run is a blog that has exploded ever since the blogger's sister and brother in law were involved in a near deadly plane crash. The blog occasionally gets a little, how do you say? Mormony? But the photos and the updates are enough to keep me reading and her sister, Stephanie, was just taken out of her medically induced coma. Yeah. C Jane also takes care of her sisters kids and has great taste in photos, colors and projects.

I think its really interesting the way that one blog can link to another blog and another and another. It is sort of like the modern equivalent of that game "Telephone"- you know that game where a line of people whisper the same phrase to each other and as the line progresses the words change, for example the original person says "Lizards are really gross" and by the end the sentence is something like "Blizzards don't happen on the west coast".

Anyways, Turkey Feathers linked to a blog one day called Domesticali. I had never checked it but I really liked it the day I tuned in and subsequently check in every few days. The blogger recently posted a series called "A Week in My Shoes" - But she didn't think of this theme on her own, she got it from another blog I had never seen: The Philosophy of Lists. A blogger that loves list making above all else. Since list making is on my top ten hobbies, I thought I would continue the momentum and start my own A WEEK IN MY SHOES.

Heading out to the Farmers Market for strawberries (to make strawberry jam!)


Forced against my will to play with the dogs because come 10:00am they literally stalk me until I take them outside.


Sunday morning breakfast at JDB - ALWAYS the Eggs Benedict - This photo is actually a reflection.


Late lunch at Subway - ALWAYS a 6 inch BLT on Italian Herb and Cheese bread with provolone, toasted.

WHAT DID YOU DO???

Lucy is generally a sort of pretty good dog but there a few things that she does that drive me up the fucking wall.

1. Exhibits insane levels of excitement when we
a. come home from somewhere
b. take her anywhere

2. Exhibits bad begging behavior when we are eating.

We had an incident last night concerning issue number 2. Lucy had spent the time that Jon and I were eating dinner right between my feet and the coffee table- Basically watching every bite go from my plate, to my fork, into my mouth, and back. When she is annoying like this I make every attempt to not drop a single morsel of my delicious dinner and I occasionally insist that she be at least two feet away. As soon as I am finished with it she races me into the kitchen in the hopes that I will let her have some scraps or perhaps I might even let her lick my plate. (Which I usually do, and yes that is the root of the problem).

So last night after dinner, Jon had left a piece of dinner bread on the table and then he went upstairs to take a shower. When Lucy thought that I wasn’t looking she grabbed the bread, hauled it as quickly as she could under the table and tried to eat it it as quickly as possible without being noticed. But this time – I noticed. And I said WHAT DID YOU DOOOOO? The words that strike fear in her heart and the words that I sometimes say just to see if she has done anything bad within her memories reach.

COME HERE! I said, and amazingly, while she was still chewing the contraband, she came over to where I was sitting and I reached into her mouth and pulled the bread out of her throat. THAT’S BAAAAADDDD. NO! NO LUCY!

Before he gets in the shower Jon yells from upstairs What did she do??? And I say, dude she ate that piece of bread you left on the table. LUCY, WHAT DID YOU DOOOOO? Jon asked her.

It's cool, I said. I took it back from her.

Then I felt bad, so about thirty seconds later I said: “good girl”.

About an hour went by and we were sitting there watching TV. I periodically looked at the table and saw that the bread was directly in the middle where she couldn’t reach it. I would leave it there to teach her patience.

Two more minutes went by and I looked down and the bread was gone and since I knew the dogs couldn't reach it I said JON!!!

What? He sounded startled

You didn't eat that piece of bread did you??

The Princess and the Poles

I have not been sleeping well recently and I’m not sure why.

Did you read that article that came out in late August about cows? You know, how they have a distinct tendency to “align their bodies” in a North-South direction? Apparently deer do as well. Scientists don’t really know what this means but they do know that the poles of the Earth have significant magnetic pulls. Some birds and even bats are known to use the magnetic North and South as a veritable GPS system and it helps them during migration. Excuse me while I turn 100% geek and say IS THAT NOT THE MOST INTERESTING THING THAT YOU HAVE EVER HEARD?

Jon and I – within the past 3 months have changed the position of our bed from a North-South facing position to an East-West facing position. Could this be the root of my not sleeping well?

I also read recently that drinking enough water each day increases energy- I am drinking 32 more ounces of water a day than I ever have in my life…Do you think this could cause me to wake up at 5am instead of 8am (or on the weekends, 9am instead of noon?) – Do I have THAT much more energy?

Well it doesn’t feel like it, because when I DON’T wake up before my alarm clock, the animals in my house flock into our bedroom at about 6am. Like, they all wake up and come upstairs into our room just to say, Hey - You guys aren’t up yet? What the fuck?

Lucy paces around the bed with her nails clicking on the hard wood floor. The Z man is so tired he yawns and sighs and then sort of collapses on the pile of Jon’s clothes that never seems to go away. The cat though, the cat is the one that really messes with me, because he started doing this thing where he comes into the room after Jon has gotten up, he meows once and then he makes a bounding LEAP onto the bed and he skims my blanketed body as he flies over me. Occasionally he miscalculates and he will land right on top of me which freaks both of us out.

So anyways, long story short. I’m not sleeping like the youthful 13 year old I once was and while that deeply saddens me, you will be happy to know that rather than just GIVE UP, and get out of bed, I roll around until I am very nearly running late. What can I say? Being consistent is important.

Best Fortune Cookie Fortune I Have EVER Had

Your intense personality can make quite an impression on people.

Couldn't Wait Any Longer

On Friday evening I threw out the idea of taking out our Christmas decorations to Jon and he agreed that it would be a really good idea. But because it is like 80 degrees here and because after all, we haven't had Thanksgiving yet I decided that that would be totally premature.

So on Saturday I went to the mall and lo and behold- it is already Christmas at the mall. And there is just something about Christmas time at the mall- the obscenely intrusive cinnamon scent, the tacky and oversized Christmas bows and wreaths and of course Santa by the tree.

I shopped around and saw all of the little gift packages each store puts together and I even heard Christmas music, so I said to myself, if it is Christmas at the mall there is no reason that it can't be Christmas in my house too.

So I took out our decorations and spent the better part of the afternoon cuti-fying our house for everyone's most favorite time of the year. And by the time I take them down it will be February but it will feel like Christmas for four months straight.

Wild Child

I have always loved old family photos. This collection today is of my mom as a kid and I think they all look like so much fun - Don't you agree?

Fish Out of Water

I don't drink very much water at all. I am like a cactus, I just evolved to not need it. I guess I also figured that, you know, I drew a lot of water from the 4 Diet Dr Peppers, the plate of steak tacos and the diet peach Snapple that I nurse daily.

I maybe have 3 full glasses of water during the week and that is usually without ice and it is because I have to have something to drink with dinner and I am just plain too lazy to pour anything.

The only time that I really NEED water is after a night of drinking. My body actually wakes me up and says "listen, you know I'd only do this if it was important but dude I need some h20 like right fuckin' now." And that moment always feels the same - like a desert has sprung up in my entire torso and that it is penetrating my soul.

So I know what you're thinking- duh just start drinking more water and I am one step ahead of you. Today I brought one large water bottle and told myself that I would drink the entire thing. And I totally did. Internet high five. But at a certain point drinking it became somewhat laborious and I'll be frank it wasn't nearly as fun as a flavored beverage would have been. But the reasons TO drink water are pretty compelling- so I might just try it again tomorrow (but ask me again in 4 days.)

NORM!

Today was the third time this week (the start of a week being defined by Sunday at 12:00am) that we dropped in to the grocery store that is in our apartment complex. Jon is 100% old boy when it comes to communicating with the local store clerks. Always engaging them...the way you see other people do when you are in line somewhere and you think "How does someone get to know their grocery store clerk so well?" And for Jon it extends to deli clerks and security guards and bank tellers and I imagine if he were an outright alcoholic it might include the local bar patrons as well.

The moment we walk in the front doors:

The Dude: "Hey Man! You watchin' the game?? [Monday Night Football-49ers]

Jon: Oh Yeah Man, did you see that catch Davis had?

The Dude: Those two catches.

- - - Jon and I wander through the isles to gather the contents of my current high protein diet: peanut butter M&Ms and BBQ sunflower seeds... We get in line and as soon as we do so the line doubles in length and there is now a short wait to be checked out. The Dude opens a new line and Jon and I move over after the person that was in front of us. - - -

Jon: Yeah man so that game - How about Sean Hill?

The Dude: I know dude

Jon: And did you hear about that Mike Singletary pulling his pants down thing?

The Dude: Yeah, but so what, you know?

Jon: Totally. (We take our bagged items)

The Dude: You know, everyone that comes in here likes him...So...

Jon: Yeah. Well alright Man, Have a good night!

- - - Jon and I make our way the four blocks back home. We start talking about their constant banter and I say that I have no idea why he harasses me to accompany him to the store if he is just going to engage the guy that works there into a conversation about the sports game that I am dying to turn off at home.- - -

Me: I like that errand though because it is usually the first moment of my day that I absolutely do not even think about what is being said around me; It is ever so zen-like. I just keep a small smile like this (demonstrated smile) on my face as though to say "I am supportive of this masculine interaction"

Jon: Dude I am like Norm in there.

Me: Oh my God you are totally serious too.

Jon: You know, I walk in and everyone is like NOOOOORRRRRRMMMMMMM?!

Me: Totally.

Jon: And I love when they open a new register for us.

Me: Whoa Whoa. You think that with a line that long our frequent patronage can claim responsibility for the entire opening of a new register?

Jon: Hell Yeah man.

Me: That's balderdash.

Jon: Dude it always happens when I am there but I feel like the guy with tattoos is always a little bit offended because he doesn't watch sports and like...I can't shoot the shit with him.

Consumer

This weekend was one of those weekends when I really felt compelled to go out and assist the ailing American economy by purchasing numerous unnecessary items at various large chain stores in my area. A key component to my guilt-free shopping is to include my monthly Petco run in the fun. By the time I have spent $80 on dog food, cat food and kitty litter I already feel like perhaps I should slow the party down.

This weekend it was also time to FINALLY frame the prints that I bought in Europe. I mean, yes, frames and mattes are expensive but this project has been in the works for months and I almost considered the frame purchases akin to buying new vacuum cleaner bags. Not selfish- Downright necessary.

After a few other stops I headed home with my million pounds of animal food and frames and got busy fitting the paintings into them. By the evening I was ready to hang them all up and I had even convinced Jon to help me. He started hammering a few nails in and immediately our next door neighbor banged on the wall back to us. Shit. "Dude, keep going, its 6:00pm on a Saturday, we're not hosting a frat party we're hanging some art." Jon started hammering again - and again the neighbor knocked back on the wall as thought we were prisoners attempting to slyly communicate through the cell wall.

We put the hammering on hold until exactly 1pm today. We thought it would be best if we knocked on the neighbors door to tell them that we would be hammering through our shared paper thin wall, but only 5 nails and we already had the holes planned. I thought that that was a job best suited for Jon. They weren't home, so we hammered away.







Today, Sunday, I went to Target for some further necessities and picked up a cubby organizer to compliment the one that I already have in an attempt to make the Bonus Room in our place a room that we actually want to spend time in. Putting all of my things in their own spaces- my stamps, my paintbrushes, my scissors, thread and glitter felt like opening my own personal stationary shop and it was the most magical and productive part of my weekend.

Happiness Is...

1. A to-do list full of check marks
2. The most fabulous Halloween costume you can think of
3. Christmas
4. A marathon of any of the following: Sex and the City, Lost, Weeds, Sopranos.
5. Christmas in San Diego (It is always sunny!)
6. A job that you don't mind going to in the morning
7. A quick day at work
8. Breaded chicken
9. Swimming in the ocean
10. Having Summers off and spending the entire time in the sun
11. A multitude of colorful and fun pens to write with
12. A Target shopping spree (particularly on rainy days)
13. Peanut butter m&ms
14. Monta Ellis actually PLAYING for the Warriors
15. Being able to say that someone famous went to your high school(oh shut up you do it too)
16. A long evening by a fireplace
17. Three week vacations to Europe
18. OBAMA
19. Buying gifts that people love
20. Jam making (and preparing the subsequent labels)
21. Having supportive friends *Hi Court
22. Having flowers and plants that actually grow
23. Warm clean laundry
24. Talking to people with accents
25. TVs in the kitchen
26. Tapas
27. E!Online while at work
28. A good nights sleep
29. List making
30. Hearing what it means to other people...

Supermarket Sweep

Have I ever mentioned that Jon and I go to the grocery store almost every single evening? Why is this practical you ask? And the answer is that it is 100% NOT practical. There is no rhyme or reason to it although it does fit in with our tendency to procrastinate and mutual inability to plan anything.

To put it in a positive light: It just seems to suit our whimsical ways.

Tonight at Safeway the intercom came on and the manager said:


Attention Safeway employees!
I'm going to need every one of you here to keep on the B.O.B's. Okay?? I need one-hun-dred percent execution on the bobs people, 100% execution on the B.O.B's. Hard work pays off. Okay? So lets do this!

Failure is not an option here at store 33261.


I'm not sure what a B.O.B is, Bringing Outside (carts) Back? I don't know. But his enthusiasm was unparalleled and I found myself wondering if I might want to join the winning team and I daresay I wasn't the only one.

Totally Called It

I saw this coming from a mile away. Yes, this is a photo of a tv cable running straight across the ground through the kitchen doorway and up the counter top. Notice that the cable is NOT placed ever so thoughtfully along the side of the wall.



We do have an excuse.



It was a pretty big night and we wanted to be able to watch the news while we cooked. And not only did we wake up with a new (history changing) president but I'll be damned if Jon Rose didn't get up before me and tuck that tv cable ever so gingerly behind the couch.



Change is here.

Fall on the Farm

Jon picked me up from work on Friday with the dogs in tow and every single piece of laundry that either one of us has ever owned. It was Halloween of course and it was sort of raining and we were really hoping to avoid traffic. Lucy was pretty bad the whole time but aside from that predictable unpleasantness the trip went really quick and we got to Pat's (Jon's mom) while it was light out and just before it started raining.



I unloaded the two MASSIVE bags- seriously, Jon's lacrosse bag which could fit a body and then his abnormally large backpacking backpack all completely full with our life: in fabric. I unloaded these bags in the laundry room and did laundry for two days straight.

On Saturday Jon got a last minute appointment at the only salon in the world that he will get his haircut at. The Auburn, California Super Cuts. I think he likes the ladies that work there-they have sort of a no-nonsense approach to hair cutting. He got a damn good haircut too and I swear to you it was record time.

"Hit gold this time" He says about the new haircut.

After the haircut we did what any group of civilized human beings does: We roamed around Best Buy and Target. Jon and I tried fruitlessly to show Pat a small glimpse of The Cavaliers by using the Best Buy demo model of RockBand, but the microphone had been cut off and stolen, the drum kick pedal was broken in half and Jon was forced to play in lefty mode. We were booed off the stage. NOT TYPICAL, just to clarify.

At Target Jon got a lucky number of his most favoritist sweaters. We also picked up a new sofa cover for my couch that has followed me around for the past 10 years (at least). It is by far the best fitting sofa cover EVER and we got some new pillows too. I'm going to make new pillowcases for the original pillows because its a huge couch and it needs the big down pillows to keep you upright. Just FYI.



But perhaps most fabulously, the fruits of our Target wanderings included a much debated kitchen TV which, I have to say does make spending time in the kitchen a lot less unbearable.



And yes, we had hamburgers for dinner tonight and they were damn good. Best homemade hamburgers ever, in fact. And guess what we had with the hamburgers?

Homemade pickles. Finally the day has come!! The pickles have pickled and they tasted, at first, perhaps a bit tart? But in the hamburgers they were PERFECT!. And that's at least good enough for me to not to be concerned for the well being of those that have a jar at home.